


Camp Crescent

by Gee_Grace



Category: EXO (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Bottom Byun Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae are best friends, Chanyeol is whipped, Eventual Smut, Exo and Red Velvet are Counsellors, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Park Chanyeol-centric, Pining, Roommates, Strangers to Lovers, Top Park Chanyeol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-30 07:17:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12648777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gee_Grace/pseuds/Gee_Grace
Summary: The only reason Chanyeol agreed to be a Camp Counsellor was because Jongdae had all-but dragged him there, on the grounds of building his resume (definitely not because Jongdae had the hots for the boss' son, Minseok).But the reason he would want to go back would be a certain boxy-smiled Counsellor named Byun Baekhyun.





	1. Welcome to Camp

**1 month earlier:**

 

_“You have to do it with me this time, please Chanyeol” Jongdae whined, hands gripping the taller’s biceps as he tugged._

_“Why?” He whined back, to any random onlookers they probably sounded like two children, not two 18-year olds in the middle of the arcade. “You know I’m awkward around kids, so I don’t get why I have to work with them for a month just so you can get your dick wet”_

_Jongdae spluttered, letting go of his arm to smack it indignantly, a pout on his face as he turned his attention to the game Chanyeol was playing. “It is not so I can get with Minseok, it’s good for your CV, something you should really be thinking about by now” Chanyeol muttered under his breath at that comment, cursing as his character died._

_“I’m still young, man, it’s perfectly normal not to know what I want to do with my life” He looked back at Jongdae, who was now stood with his arms crossed, looking about as intimidating as a Chihuahua. “Plus, if I’m not going to work with kids in the future, why would I want experience in it now”_

_Rolling his eyes, the shorter led him to the food court outside of the arcade, firmly sitting him down and producing some forms._

_“People love experience with kids, it shows so many traits that companies are looking for” Chanyeol knew the other was right on that, but he’d been putting off anything that had to do with University or life after – he’d barely settled on his psychology course, not even sure if University was something he wanted to do._

_He sighed and accepted the forms the other was pushing towards him, reading the words at the top._

_‘Camp Crescent Application Form’_

_What the heck, why not?_

_Chanyeol shot his friend one last put-out look before accepting the offered pen and filling the form out._

 

**Present Day – June 30th:**

 

“I really hate you for this, I want to go home” Chanyeol grunted, eyes watching the blur of trees as Jongdae’s car took another left, car bouncing around with the bumps in the road that made Chanyeol feel more than a little car-sick. Why had he agreed to this again?

“We’re not even there yet, calm down drama queen” Jongdae laughed at his misfortune, singing alone to whatever was playing.

Chanyeol reminded himself several times that this was something important he needed to do, both for his CV and to get over some of his awkwardness around children. When he’d mentioned the idea to his family, his sister chose that moment to announce she was pregnant and how great it would be for her baby brother to become a good uncle.

The idea of a younger version of his sister running around sent a shiver of horror down his spine.

He wasn’t entirely sure what ages he would be dealing with at the camp, or even what exactly they were going to be doing. But it was some extra (much needed) cash in his pocket and valuable experience to boast about – plus the reviews from previous camp counsellors were nothing but positive, so it gave him some hope.

Drawn from his thoughts as a big wooden sign indicated their arrival, he ducked his head, eyes flitting over the cabins.

It looked nice enough and he’d been assured it had state-of-the-art facilities and plenty of warm water, so at least he wouldn’t be living like a caveman for a month. Though it looked almost eerie with no kids running around, just an empty camp as they pulled into one of the free car spaces. 

A few cars were already there and Chanyeol’s nerves spiked.

Clearly Jongdae had no such worries, given he’d been a counsellor the previous year and knew the staff and a lot of the kids already. The fact he knew no one and he’d been the newbie made him worry even more, what if he didn’t fit in, or didn’t like anyone other than Jongdae – considering the smaller was trying to get into the pants of the owner’s son, Kim Minseok, he wasn’t sure how much he’d see of his friend.

He didn’t have much more time to dwell on it, as Jongdae ushered him out of the car.

After grabbing the (excessive) luggage they’d brought and dragging it to the reception, they were greeted by a pretty girl who introduced herself as Yeri, before telling them where they were staying. To Chanyeol’s horror, they weren’t in the same cabin; Jongdae was sharing with someone called Sehun in cabin 4, which he looked pretty pleased about.

Chanyeol read the name next to his by Cabin 2 – Byun Baekhyun.

He showed the list to Jongdae, who raised an eyebrow, nodding in approval. “You should be happy, Baek’s one of the more talkative ones, really nice guy, they must have been impressed to give you a room with him” It was supposed to make him feel better, he knew that, but the idea of sharing with an overly friendly stranger did nothing to appease him.

They passed cabin 1 and the door opened just as they did, revealing a man with black hair, curled on the top.

He grinned at them gummily and judging by how Jongdae nearly drooled, Chanyeol assumed this was Minseok.

“Hey, Jongdae! You must be Chanyeol” A hand was extended in his direction after the two shared a quick hug and he took it into his own, shaking it firmly. While the man was quite a bit shorter than him, with a rather youthful face, there was a definite air of authority about him and Chanyeol made sure to be polite.

“He’s sharing with Baekhyun in 2, so I’m taking him there” Minseok nodded, gesturing over his shoulder to the cabin next to his.

“I’ll help you with your bags, you’re in 4 right? Sehun’s not here yet, so I’ll keep you company” Chanyeol resisted the urge to roll his eyes at how Jongdae visibly swooned, assuming that Baekhyun was already here if Minseok had pointed out Sehun wasn’t and hadn’t said the same to him.

With a wave over his shoulder, he deposited his bags by the door, taking the key on the lanyard around his neck and unlocking the door.

A quick glance around the cabin told him it was currently empty, but the personal possessions decorating one half of the room was a clear indication that his roommate was in fact already here somewhere. Taking a breath to calm his nerves, he set about moving his stuff into the cabin, unpacking slowly.

The room was surprisingly spacious, basically a mirrored image on either side. Each person had a single bed (unfortunately), two desks against each other in the wall space between them, a wardrobe against the wall at the end of each bed. One large window sat above where the desks were, casting a lot of natural light into the room.

It seemed he had the right side of the room and he was glad he had somewhere to hang his clothes up.

Though he frowned as he realised there wasn’t much room to put his many hats he’d brought, other than on top of the wardrobe.

Once he’d gotten through most of his unpacking, he felt the urge to use the bathroom and he stopped, dumping his guitar onto the bed, still in it’s bag. He noticed another door on the left hand side of the room, right as you entered and a quick inspection told him it was their en suite.

Jongdae had been right, it was nice.

A new looking bathroom set glistened from the light coming through the small window in the corner of the room.

He did his business and washed his hands, staring at his tired looking reflection in the mirror – he hadn’t slept too well the night before knowing they were coming here today and he looked as shattered as he felt. Sighing and slapping his face with some cold water, he dried off and opened the door to the cabin.

His body collided straight into someone else and he let out an embarrassingly startled yelp.

Hand reached out to steady then both and Chanyeol’s mind focused enough to take in the other’s features.

The boy was truly quite pretty, his small frame slender but not too thin, eyes wide and smiley as they looked up at him. He was about as tall – maybe a little taller – than Minseok, but still much shorter than Chanyeol, not that that was overly uncommon.

“Oh – hey, sorry I didn’t realise you were in there! You must be Chanyeol, I’m Baekhyun” He accepted the second handshake of the day, mouth hanging openly dumbly until he realised Baekhyun was shooting him a concerned look. Shaking his head, he put on a smile, chuckling awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t hear you come in” He let of his hand and shuffled awkwardly into the room as the other stepped back.

“When did you get here?” Chanyeol swore he could get lost in those eyes, so attentively trained on himself.

“Uh, about half an hour ago maybe, I came with Jongdae” Clearly Jongdae was popular as the name brought a smile to Baekhyun’s face as he sat on his own bed, Chanyeol mirroring his actions on his own half of the room. How on earth was he supposed to stay in a room with someone like Baekhyun.

Chanyeol was a hard person to please, believe it or not, but he couldn’t help his initial attraction to the shorter man.

His aura and energy were great and his smile was blinding and Chanyeol subconsciously felt himself relaxing.

“Have you done this before?” He shook his head in response and Baekhyun smiled knowingly at the many bags of luggage now stuffed under his bed. “Well it’s good fun really, you’ll be dying to come back next year, I’m sure” Chanyeol wasn’t, but he nodded politely anyway, not really sure what else to say.

Small talk wasn’t his forte, but luckily, Baekhyun seemed to pick up his slack naturally.

“Well you must be hungry, it’s already 7 – we’re having a barbeque, campfire kind of thing soon if you’re interested. You’ll get to meet everyone else then too” He explained, hands gesturing wildly as he spoke.

“How many of us are there?” The question was simple and something he probably should have already known.

“9 guys, 5 girls – Me, you, Jongdae, Minseok – he’s the boss’ son, basically runs the place by now given he’s older than us. Uh, where was I? Sehun, Jongin, Kyungsoo, Yixing, Junmyeon, that’s it for the guys” His rambling was cute, Chanyeol mused. “Yeri mainly works reception during induction but you’ll see her around, Wendy, Irene, Seulgi and Joy”

“That’s quite a lot, how many kids do we get?” He blinked wearily, dreading the numbers already.

“Well, there’s also like kitchen and maintenance staff but you rarely see them – erm, kids wise, each pair gets 8 kids, so 4 per person if you want to look at it that way. But you rarely work on your own, breach of rules or something” Wait, pairs? Does that mean… “So you and I will get 8, normally mixed boys and girls, aged 10-13 – the older kids’ months have already passed”

Chanyeol wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing; it meant more time spent with Baekhyun, but also more time to be an embarrassment.

“Don’t look so scared, it’ll be fine. I’ll take good care of you don’t worry!” He smiled back, but this time he meant it. He was starting to see why he had been paired with the other boy, considering how helpful and outgoing he was – for a newbie like himself there was probably no one better to help him settle in.

He wondered if everyone was this cheery.

 

 

It turns out not everyone was quite as bubbly and overwhelmingly adorable as Baekhyun.

The smaller boy led him out of their cabin and to the communal building, where a campfire was already going strong on the grass next to it. A big group of people were gathered around it and Chanyeol recognised Minseok sat with Jongdae on one of the large logs. Yeri was also there, with 4 other girls who Chanyeol assumed must be who Baekhyun had mentioned.

His eyes flickered over the rest of the boys there, nodding as Baekhyun loudly introduced them all.

A short, stoic looking man was introduced as Kyungsoo, who just nodded at Chanyeol, looking thoroughly bored – maybe he wasn’t the only one who’d been bullied into being here after all. Next to him was a very handsome, but surprisingly shy boy named Jongin who smiled and waved.

Sehun was nearly as tall as Chanyeol and far more intimidating – he gave the elder a once over before sipping on his hot chocolate.

Junmyeon introduced himself, with a bright smile and motherly eyes, welcoming him to the group warmly. Finally was Yixing, who seemed a little strange, but totally harmless as he started telling  
Chanyeol a story about his hometown, whether the other wanted to listen or not.

Overall, they made a very eclectic group and Chanyeol wasn’t sure where he would fit in exactly, but they were nice enough.

Baekhyun urged him towards the log Jongdae and Minseok were sat on, before disappearing and coming back with a cup of steaming cocoa. “Here you go, it can get a bit cold” Chanyeol smiled and thanked him, eyes trailing after him as he got his own mug, sitting close to Chanyeol so that Junmyeon could fit on the end of the log.

Chanyeol tried not to think about how their thighs brushed together occasionally, or how Baekhyun would smile at him, all boxy and cute.

He’d had his fair share of relationships, both good and bad, with both boys and girls. But his heart rarely fluttered so quick around someone and he wasn’t sure he liked the feeling. He literally knew nothing about the other man, for all he knew Baekhyun could be some sort of psychopath.

But as he observed him while Kyungsoo and Jongdae cooked their meat over the fire, he just couldn’t pick out a bad thing about him. Baekhyun was always smiling or cracking a joke, always checking up on someone and volunteering to help wherever he could – more than anything else Chanyeol admired him.

Thinking he’d been discreet with his watching, he was startled when Baekhyun’s attention returned to him, an amused smile on his face.

“You OK? You look like you’ve seen a ghost, I promise I’m not that scary… right?” Chanyeol flushed, feeling the tell-tale reddening of his ears with embarrassment at being caught. He shook his head frantically apologising, which Baekhyun just waved off with another smile.

How was it possible for one person to smile so much?

“So how long have you been doing this?” Baekhyun seemed surprised at his sudden question, but was quick to answer.

“This is my seventh year at this camp – second as a counsellor. I turned 19 in May, but I came here when I was a kid, it’s really like a second home to me now” His body was turned slightly to give Chanyeol his full attention, Junmyeon having wandered off to supervise something Yixing was doing by the fire.

Their knees knocked together from the angle but if Baekhyun noticed, he chose to not move away.

“Oh, you seem like you’ve been doing this more than just last year” Chanyeol commented, smile mirroring Baekhyun’s as he ducked his head almost shyly. “I’ve never even been camping before at all, never mind done something like this before” He explained, thanking Jongdae as he was presented with dinner.

Baekhyun chuckled, taking his own plate. “You get used to it pretty quick, the kids are nice too… most of the time”

Chanyeol found he was worrying a little less about the arrival of the kids the next afternoon, knowing he had someone like Baekhyun by his side to help him with whatever he needed. Plus, the kids probably loved Baekhyun just like everyone else so maybe they’d be better behaved.

He took his first mouthful of meat as the conversation lulled naturally.

Unsurprisingly, it was great, which Chanyeol knew was hard to do over an open fire – But Jongdae’s passion was food and he would be starting culinary school in September and Chanyeol felt full of pride for his friend. Speaking of Jongdae, a quick glance next to him told him he was now sat again with Minseok, the hearts in his eyes visible from a mile away.

He wondered if Minseok was actually just blind, or if he was playing coy with Jongdae.

The thought that the elder was messing his friend around popped into his head, but left just as quickly when he smiled, hand landing affectionately on Jongdae’s knee. He doubted Minseok would go this far for a bit of a joke; if that was the case, Chanyeol would have to have words with the boss’ son, job or no job.

“They’re cute, aren’t they?” The words were barely more than a whisper by his ear and he jumped in shock. Baekhyun chortled with laughter at the startled look on his face, drawing some attention from the others, before they lost interest, quickly returning to whatever they had been doing. “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d get so scared”

Chanyeol pouted but said nothing else as his eyes returned to look at his friend.

“Yeah, I wish they’d just hook up already, hearing Jongdae fawn over Minseok gets old pretty quick when you hear it all the time” He smirked as Baekhyun nodded sympathetically patting Chanyeol’s leg, sending shocks through the taller’s body.

“They weren’t quite this bad last year, but everyone still knew they liked each other – I guess distance does make the heart fonder, eh” The other mused, looking at the duo for a moment longer before turning his attention back to Chanyeol. “So what about you, any lucky lady – or man – got your attention?”

The question was so casual but Chanyeol felt rushed to deny.

“Nope, I’m as single as they come, have been for about a year, you?” He was sure his tone was far less casual than Baekhyun’s had been.

“I’m the same, I’ve only really dated one person before and they broke up with me on valentine’s day… because they’d found someone else” Chanyeol winced, that was never a nice thing, especially not on a day supposed to be spent with loved ones. Baekhyun didn’t look too hung up on it, so he didn’t dwell on the topic.

“Well anyone would be lucky to have you, I’m sure you have a list of people waiting to date you” He joked, laughing lightly.

Baekhyun’s eyes widened momentarily before flushing a pretty pink himself, smiling at the ground.

“Thank you, Chanyeol. But I’m afraid you’re wrong, there’s certainly no list of ‘Prince Charming’s waiting for me” The laugh that escaped him lacked the same humour as before and Chanyeol definitely noticed how small the other’s voice became and realised maybe he’d hit a sore topic without meaning to.

“Nonsense, you’re a great guy Baekhyun, maybe you just haven’t realised yet” Needing an out, Chanyeol smiled in return to the blinding smile Baekhyun shot at him, standing to put their paper plates in the bin. The walk to the bin was short, as it was just outside of the main building barely a few metres away.

Suddenly, Jongdae was by his side, shooting him a knowing look.

“Park Chanyeol, since when do you flirt with people you’ve just met” The tone of his voice was more amused than accusational and Chanyeol just rolled his eyes, nudging his shoulder playfully. “I know that look Chanyeol, you’re not the type to fall so quick. But I told you, Baekhyun’s really something

“Oh shut up Jongdae, you might as well be sat on Minseok’s dick with how obvious you are, so you can’t comment” Jongdae didn’t even look embarrassed, shoving Chanyeol with a smirk before returning back to the campfire, where conversation had picked up a little as a group.

It was nice here, he thought, much nicer than he’d been expecting – though he’d hardly been optimistic.

Maybe this would be an experience he would want to do again year after year; though maybe he was speaking too soon. His affection for his roommate was clearly clouding his mind, given he hadn’t even met the kids or had to do any actual work. 

_Well fuck_ , he was definitely in over his head.


	2. Orienteering

The first night had been the worst he’d slept in ages; maybe it was the slightly lumpy mattress, maybe it was having to share a room with someone be barely knew for the first time in a long time. Or maybe it was just the nerves catching back up with him the closer he got to actually having to work with random kids.

But either way, he’d barely got more than 3 hours sleep and he sure as hell wasn’t ready to pretend to not be dead on his feet until evening.

Opening his eyes for the countless time that night – or morning, as it now was – he saw it was a little after 5 am and there was no point in trying to go back to sleep, just to get back up at half 6. Kids would start arriving at 8, so they were all expected to be up and at the main hall for 7 to get breakfast and their assigned groups.

Sitting up, the duvet pooled around his waist, t-shirt hanging loosely off his chest as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

A quick glance to the other side of the room told him Baekhyun was sleeping soundly, deep breaths breaking the silence as he quietly tiptoed to the bathroom, grabbing his toiletries and towel on the way.   
He might as well go in the shower now to avoid awkward encounters later on.

Locking the door, he stripped, leaving his clothes in a messy pile on the floor. Turning the shower on, he spent the time it took to heat up brushing his teeth. His eyes looked a little puffy from the little sleep he’d gotten and he splashed his face with cold water a few times before getting into the shower in a vain attempt at rejuvenating his skin.

Sighing in pleasure at the heat, he tilted his head back, just letting the water wash over him for a few moments.

It was rare that showers were high enough for him to enjoy it without having to hunch over, but whoever had built this one must have had tall people in mind. Figuring he didn’t want to waste more water than was necessary, he quickly lathered up his hair with the apricot shampoo he’d brought, the fruity scent making him smile.

He'd always preferred fruity smells over floral or musky ones and he idly hoped that Baekhyun wasn’t the type to burn incense.

Using the left-over suds to scrub at his body, he eventually shut off the shower, now clean and more awake than he had been before. The mirror was steamed up, so he couldn’t see his reflection but he hoped it was better than the state he’d looked moments earlier, wanting to at least look like he wasn’t basically a zombie. Even if it was how he felt.

Towelling himself off, he cursed, realising he hadn’t brought a change of clothes into the bathroom in his haste.

Securing it at best he could around his waist, he picked up the clothes he had slept in and unlocked the door, peering out. Baekhyun was now lying on his back, mouth open as he slept and Chanyeol thanked his luck as he moved to his wardrobe, gathering his underwear quickly.

Just as he’d finished pulling his boxers up, a sleepy mumble sounded from the bed.

His head whipped around as he froze, eyes meeting Baekhyun’s sleepy ones just as his towel dropped to the floor. He wasn’t that shy of his body, since he’d been hitting the gym for a while now and his muscles were really starting to show. However, he wasn’t expecting his roommate to see him practically naked so unexpectedly.

“Morning… you’re up early” His voice was slurred with the remnants of sleep as he slowly pulled himself into a seating position.

His hair was tousled, but Chanyeol couldn’t help but notice how cute he looked, even having just woken up. “Uh, yeah, I didn’t sleep very well so I thought I’d get a head start on getting ready” Baekhyun frowned and looked like he was about to say something but his alarm went off, interrupting his train of thought.

“I should take a shower, we’ll head for breakfast when I’m done?” Chanyeol couldn’t have said no even if he wanted to. Not when his tone was so hopeful and he shot Chanyeol a sleepy smile as he stood. Baekhyun only wore an oversized shirt and some boxers to bed, the shirt reaching mid-thigh.

Chanyeol’s eyes focused on the tan skin of his thighs for a moment too long, before he turned his attention back to his own clothes, realising he was still stood in just his boxers.

Quickly pulling a t-shirt over his head, he followed it with tight black jeans, and a hoodie, looking much like the student he was.

Next came drying his hair; he pulled out the hairdryer he’d brought (even if Jongdae had laughed at him for wanting to bring it), drying it quickly, so that the style sat nicely on his head. If there was one thing he could afford to do, it was make an effort with his hair in a vain attempt at looking more presentable.

He could hear the shower running faintly from the room as he sat on his bed, unplugging his phone and scrolling through his Facebook while he waited. That was another thing he was thankful for, Wi-Fi that actually worked – he wasn’t sure he could live without access to the internet.

It didn’t take long before Baekhyun emerged, fully dressed, hair still a little damp.

His smile was as bright as ever, looking far more awake as he grabbed his own phone, pulling on his shoes.

“You ready?” Chanyeol nodded, smiling back as Baekhyun led them out of the cabin, locking it behind them before strolling towards the main hall. “In good time too, we’ll probably be one of the first there, which means first dibs on food” Baekhyun chuckled, looking completely at ease.

It did help to relax Chanyeol and he grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets.

The camp was really pretty when you took the time to notice the little things, like the plants and flowers lining each pathway, or the little bird feeders and bee houses nailed to trees. It was very homely in it’s own way, reminiscent of some elderly communities more than a place kids hung out.

They made idle conversation about anything that popped into their head until they reached the double glass doors leading to the food hall.

The room was full of long cafeteria style tables and chairs, with a large opening into the kitchen along one wall, where the food was clearly going to be served from. It smelled good and Chanyeol felt his mouth watering a little at the range of breakfast foods already filling the self-service stations.

“I’m starving” He commented, gratefully accepting the tray Baekhyun was handing him.

He followed after the smaller man like a lost puppy, going from tray to tray, filling his plate with everything from bacon and eggs to pancakes and syrup until there was no room left. The other laughed as he tucked in the second they were sat down, eating his own food at a far more normal pace than the giant in front of him.

The food was surprisingly good, given it was essentially batch-produced cafeteria food.

If only his school lunches had tasted anything like this, maybe he’d actually have eaten better.

“Are you nervous for today?” Baekhyun asked as he sipped his coffee, waving across the room as the other counsellors started appearing, looking various stages of tired. Chanyeol nodded, his mouth full of the last of his food. “Don’t be, the kids are great, really. Plus, if you need anything, you have me!”

“Thanks” He felt the tell-tale blush creeping up his neck and he was thankful when Jongdae appeared beside him with his own food.

“Good morning guys!” He was cheery and loud as ever, sharing a bright smile with Baekhyun as Minseok sat down next to him. They each greeted the pair, Chanyeol thankful for the distraction as the room became rowdier with early morning conversation and the sound of cutlery hitting plates.

“I have the list of your group, by the way” Minseok reached into his pocket to pull out a sheet with a spreadsheet of names and other information and handed it to Baekhyun. “Let me know if there’s any problems, alright?” Chanyeol and Baekhyun nodded as he stood to hand out the rest of the sheets, munching on a slice of toast as he went.

Baekhyun made a pleased noise and Chanyeol leaned over the table to spy some names.

“We’ve got Jennie, Rose, Yugyeom, BamBam, Minhyuk, Dahyun, Momo and Sungjae” Chanyeol looked at him blankly, none of the names meaning anything at all – he didn’t remember Jongdae mentioning any of those names during his tales of his stint last year. “They’re good kids, BamBam, Yugyeom and Sungjae can be a bit of a handful, but they’re harmless”

Chanyeol nodded, pretending like that didn’t send a little spark of panic up his spine.

How was he supposed to scold kids that he didn’t know?

“Don’t look so scared, if they do anything, I’ll handle it, OK?” Baekhyun looked amused and a little concerned and Chanyeol cursed himself for being so easy to read. He was supposed to be a figure of authority at the camp and if Baekhyun could read him so easily, the kids probably would be able to as well.

Sipping on his own coffee for the remainder of their break, they took their dishes to the kitchen window and assembled out front.

It was a lovely day luckily, no rain or strong winds; Chanyeol could see some cars start to pull into the visitor car park as Minseok ran over some last minute house-keeping rules that he was only half paying attention to. They waved and greeted the kids and parents until eventually everyone was there and the parents bad been dismissed.

“Right, welcome to camp everyone! Welcome back to those we’ve met before and welcome for the first time to the rest of you!” Minseok had put Junmyeon in charge of the opening speeches, not being much of a public talker himself. The kids chattered excitedly before falling back into silence. “When we call out your names please find your assigned counsellors”

The list of names began and Chanyeol tried to make his smile as calm as possible as he heard the first name of his own group.

“Yugyeom, red team… BamBam, red team” A tall boy with chubby cheeks and a much shorter, skinny boy with a high-pitched giggle strolled over and Chanyeol remembered what Baekhyun said about them being a handful. Baekhyun greeted them brightly and introduced them to Chanyeol.

Next came the 4 girls, all shy and polite, staring wide-eyed and giggling at the tall counsellor who smiled and looked away.

The final two boys came over and Minhyuk insisted on shaking Chanyeol’s hand, looking much older and more mature than the others, clearly the oldest of the bunch. But Sungjae was close behind him, arm slung over the other boy’s shoulder affectionately and Chanyeol assumed they were good friends.

“Ok, teams, for those of you who don’t know each other you’ll spend some time getting to know your team and team leaders and we’ll regroup to play some games in an hour or so” Junmyeon grinned, hands clapped together, looking as cheery as all the counsellors on the adverts and Chanyeol wondered how much energy the elder had.

Baekhyun announced they were heading to their cabin, which was separated into two rooms and two bathrooms, one for the boys and one for the girls, and a small communal area to drop their stuff off and get to know each other. Chanyeol just followed obediently, bringing up the rear as they headed to the opposite side of the resort to where their own cabins were.

At least there was no chance of kids appearing accidentally at a staff cabin instead of their own.

The air was filled with an excited buzz as high-pitched chatter and laughter echoed through the rooms.

There was a slight argument over who had what beds, Yugyeom and BamBam not agreeing on who got the top bunch until Baekhyun made them play rock-paper-scissors – Yugyeom won. The kids cabins were nice too, not as decked out as their own, but definitely nicer than any camp he’d been to as a kid.

It made him wonder how much their parents were paying for them to be here.

After about 5 minutes, they were all gathered in the sitting area, 4 to a sofa, with Baekhyun and Chanyeol on the third, smaller sofa.

“So everyone, I know you’ve all been before, but you’ve not been in a group together – plus Chanyeol is new, so let’s do introductions. Say your name and something interesting about yourself” There were a few quiet murmurs and discussions over what people were going to say, until Baekhyun offered to go first.

“My name is Baekhyun and… I once sang for a commercial on TV” A few awed noises came from the kids. “Jennie, you next”

“I’m Jennie and I used to go to school in New Zealand!” She looked very proud of herself and Chanyeol smiled, now recognising the slight tinge to her accent when she said certain words. They continued on until they’d gone around the full circle and it came back to Chanyeol.

“Uh, my name is Chanyeol and I play the drums, guitar and piano” Boring he knew, but there was really nothing else to say.

“I want to play the drums, but my mom says I’m not allowed” Sungjae pouted and Chanyeol chuckled, ruffling his hair.

“They’re very noisy and take up a lot of room, so I’m not surprised” He turned back to the group and saw Baekhyun watching him, a small smile on his face and he bit his lip, ducking his head away from the attention. The nerves he had felt earlier were much less prominent now he’d had some time with the kids.

He could see what the other had meant about some of them being a handful.

Yugyeom and BamBam were clearly best friends and liked to tease and annoy each other, alongside the other boys occasionally. The girls were a lot quieter but still very giggly and were all friends within the first five minutes of being put together it seemed – must be a girl thing.

“Baekhyun, what are we doing next?” Minhyuk asked, blinking expectantly at the counsellor as he sat crossed-legged.

“I think there’s a quiz, and some games, but they might be after lunch” The kids nodded, eyes wide and innocent as Baekhyun started to tell them a story about something that had happened since the last time he’d saw them and Chanyeol was sure his own expression was probably as enamoured as the kids.

It was hard not to be drawn to the smaller boy, his aura was so bold it was impossible to ignore.

The kids seemed appeased with the answer and after a while more chatting, obediently followed the counsellors to the main outdoor courtyard. All of the other groups were either already there or gathering when they got there and Junmyeon announced they were going to play hide and seek as a way of getting used to the area.

He listed a few places they weren’t allowed, like in the cabins, staff areas, cafeteria or anywhere near the car park.

The counsellors were apparently included in most of the games the kids did, after all they were there to make sure they had the best time. The green team, manned by Kyungsoo and Jongin were seeking first, having pulled the short straw. Chanyeol had a moment of panic as he realised he didn’t have a clue where anything other than the excluded places were.

A hand grabbed his arm after he didn’t really move once the whistle was blown.

His head whipped around to find Baekhyun tugging him in the direction of the back resort; he followed obediently, letting the smaller boy drag him down a few paths until they reached a tall building with a big sign saying ‘Gymnasium’ outside – what sort of camp was this?

The hall was spacious with several courts painted out on the floor and Chanyeol was confused what the other’s plan was.

That was until Baekhyun opened a side door and ushered the taller boy in to the dark room. Once his eyes had adjusted slightly, he noticed it was some sort of storage with one wall piled high with soft mats and the rest of the space filled with various equipment and boxes.

After a bit of rather precarious climbing, they were squeezed into a space that was definitely too small for the both of them.

Chanyeol’s back was pressed firmly against the wall, with his legs crossed, Baekhyun mirroring his position, with his back against a tall box filled with pool floats, knees touching Chanyeol’s. “I hid here last year and no one found me then, so hopefully we’ll win again this year” His voice was hushed though Chanyeol was sure no one was around yet.

“How long do we wait for?” He whispered, not wanting to break the quiet atmosphere.

“Basically, until each person is found, or half an hour is up and then we switch teams. We normally spend an hour playing and play it a few times until eventually everyone’s had a go at the end of the camp” He explained.

That meant up to an hour spent hidden with Baekhyun, given they’d hide together the next round too. “So, what do you do outside of this place?” He figured he might as well take this time to get to know Baekhyun a bit more, or else the silence might become more awkward than comforting.

“I go to uni, I study history, boring I know” He chuckled. “But I find it really interesting, I just finished first year. What about you?”

“I’m starting in September actually, doing psychology though I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do with it” He shrugged and Baekhyun nodded sympathetically, explaining that he was pretty much in the same position, with history not leading into a specific career, but it was something he loved and that was more important.

Chanyeol admired people like Baekhyun, who were so optimistic and truly lived life the way they wanted, not worried about the future.

He’d only chosen psychology because he was good at it and there was nothing else that really caught his attention.

“My parents are just glad I’ve settled on a course, I was going to take a gap year and that would mean I’d have to find a job. So I suppose it’s better than that” He really wasn’t as impressive compared to the smaller man, but Baekhyun listened carefully to everything he said as if it was far more interesting than it actually was.

He was about to ask another question when the sound of the door being opened startled them both into silence. Baekhyun ducked down further, dragging Chanyeol’s head down with him to try and obscure them from view. There were a few voices and Chanyeol recognised one as Kyungsoo, the others sounding significantly younger.

It took a few more moments of aching tension before a head popped over the box behind Baekhyun.

A child Chanyeol didn’t recognise grinned and pointed at them, announcing to the rest of the room that he’d found them. Kyungsoo’s head peered over, looking mildly surprised to find both counsellors in such a position, but then a small smirk took place as he backed off, letting them out.

“How did you find us so soon? No one found me last year!” Baekhyun whined, lips pouting cutely.

“Guess we’re just lucky” Kyungsoo commented as the kids laughed and dragged them towards the assembly point. Chanyeol just smiled, following obediently as their names were checked off a list, most of his group were still hiding but quite a few of the other counsellors were there too – probably too big and not as eager as the kids to be hidden well.

“I guess we’ll have to find a new spot next time, eh?” Baekhyun chuckled, shooting Chanyeol an apologetic look.

But all he heard was the ‘we’ in that sentence, nodding dumbly at the other’s bright smile – as if he would ever say no to anything Baekhyun wanted to do together anyway.


	3. Lake Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah it's been a while since I've written anything for this story, so I thought I'd pick it back up (definitely not just as a form of procrastination from my exams, I promise). Expect more chapters sometime over the next few weeks!

It was strange how quickly Chanyeol had gotten used to sharing a room with Baekhyun and he found himself sleeping much better than the previous night, his eyes slipping shut barely after midnight – still long after his roommate had managed to fall asleep and Chanyeol could hear the deep breaths the other made.

That didn’t, however, mean he was any less tired when he woke up; the previous day really having taken it out of him.

By the time they’d both washed and were ready for the day, breakfast was due to start any minute and Baekhyun hurried him out of the door in time to beat some of the late-wakers. They were the third pair to arrive, by the looks of things and Chanyeol dutifully followed Baekhyun into the small queue, not unlike a puppy following it’s carer.

The food was as good as it had been the day before and Chanyeol made sure to have a big mug of coffee to energise himself a bit for the day. They joined Junmyeon, Yixing, Jongin and Kyungsoo at one of the tables, their own plates filled with various foods. They were greeted with varying enthusiasm and Chanyeol was sure Jongin was asleep sitting up, head lolling onto Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

Soon enough the room was abuzz with loud laughs and chatter from every table, now full with both kids and counsellors as they enjoyed their breakfasts before the days activities would start. Junmyeon had mentioned that today was Lake Day and that they’d spent most of the day there, playing both in the lake and relaxing on the shores for a while. It sounded fun and Chanyeol was a fan of water, always having been a good swimmer. Jongdae whispered to him that Minseok and Jongin were the trained life guards of the bunch and he swore his friend had hearts in his eyes as he imagined Minseok in a swimsuit.

The kids seemed just as excited once the announcement was made and they were dismissed with their groups.

Baekhyun asked if Chanyeol would grab his swimming things and a towel for him, while he monitored their group, instructing him on where he kept his things. Of course, the younger agreed, striding off towards their cabin.

He decided to change into his swim shorts and t-shirt in the cabin, making sure to pack some clothes to change into once he’d dried off later, as well as a towel. Next came Baekhyun’s things and he felt suddenly awkward as he stood in front of Baekhyun’s wardrobe and drawers. It felt somewhat intrusive, even if the other had been given permission.

Opening the drawer the other had told him the shorts were in, his eyes were drawn immediately to the other clothing items occupying the drawer.

It was filled mostly with underwear of various colours, all folded far neater than his own – at the other end was the item he was looking for, some bright red swimming shorts and he quickly grabbed them, shutting the drawer before his face got any hotter. Thank God he was alone.

Next came grabbing a plain t-shirt from the selection that he thought the other wouldn’t mind getting wet.

Once everything he’d been sent for was in the same bag he was using (no sense in carrying two bags if they could help it) he set back off, barely remembering to lock the door behind him, before heading off to the camp cabins. By the time he’d gotten there his face was luckily a far more normal colour and everyone was nearly done on Baekhyun’s end.

He could hear the girls debating on what bikini they were going to wear and quickly zoned out, turning to his partner.

Baekhyun smiled at him, asking if he found everything OK, to which he nodded and glanced anywhere but at him. _Smooth._

“Right guys, let’s get going! Don’t forget to bring your sunscreen, hats and goggles if you’re wearing them!” There was a rushed buzz in the air as the last few things were grabbed and shoved into bags before they were leading the rowdy bunch towards a little forest path near the back of the estate that lead to the lake. Chanyeol hadn’t even realised there was a lake before today and so he was impressed when the trail ended, leading them to the large body of water, surrounded by forest and mountains in a setting that could easily be found on a postcard. “Nice, right?”

He turned to Baekhyun with a stunned look on his face and the other just laughed, ushering him towards the other groups.

Minseok gave the talk on water safety, himself and Jongin dressed in all red with _LIFEGUARD_ written in white across both the front and back of their shirts. They weren’t allowed further than a few metres out, unless accompanied by their counsellors on the inflatables.

The edge of the lake had the tiniest bit of sand, before it edged out into grass that led back to the woods and Chanyeol got his and Baekhyun’s towels out, lying them neatly side by side with Jongdae’s on the small expanse of sand to relax on if they weren’t swimming. Baekhyun grabbed his stuff and disappeared into the hut to get changed along with several other counsellors and Chanyeol found himself alone with his friend for the first time in a few days.

“So, how’re you finding things? Good, right?” Jongdae asked, smiling out at where the kids were starting to wade into the water after having been thoroughly smothering in sun protection.

“Yeah, actually” He heard BamBam yell out in irritation as Yugyeom and a boy Chanyeol recognised and Jungkook dunked him under the water. “Everyone’s really nice and the kids seem cool as well, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m glad you made me come” His friend looked increasingly smug and he rolled his eyes, nudging him playfully. “Have you sat on Minseok’s dick yet?”

Jongdae spluttered, smacking his arm hard enough to gain some of the other’s attention.

“What the fuck Chanyeol, there are minors around!” Chanyeol shot him a look as if to comment on his hypocritical use of swearing. “But no, not yet. I’ve barely had time to get him alone” The other’s voice turned whiney and he pouted, sighing as he flopped onto his back dramatically.

“I’m sure you’ll find time, just ask for his help with something and then sit on his dick” Another smack had him whining himself and Baekhyun reappeared with Minseok, effectively shutting down their conversation.

“Have you two put on sunscreen?” Minseok checked, holding the bottle in his hand as he rubbed in the last bit into the back of his neck. When they shook their heads sheepishly, he frowned and Chanyeol, being the great friend he was, suggested Minseok helped Jongdae put it on his back.

What he didn’t expect, was for Baekhyun to jump in offering to help him apply his own.

He blinked dumbly for a few seconds before nodding, trying to pretend like he wasn’t freaking out at the prospect of having the other’s hands all over him.

Feeling the other tug at the hem of his shirt, he relented and pulled it up over his head. Pouring a generous amount onto his own hands, he went about creaming up his legs and feet, tensing briefly as the cold cream hit his back. Baekhyun just chuckled out an insincere apology and went about rubbing it in.

His hands were small but firm and spent probably a bit too long massaging it into his shoulders, digging his thumbs into the tense muscles there in a way that had Chanyeol sagging. The hands, covered in fresh sunscreen, rubbed at the back of his neck and around, rubbing at his ears to cover them.

Chanyeol’s eyes fluttered involuntarily; his ears had always been sensitive and the sudden attention caught him off guard.

Luckily, Baekhyun either didn’t notice or didn’t comment on it and moved on to wipe the excess on his hands over his shoulders onto his chest.

He didn’t bother to comment that he could do that bit himself, instead sitting in tense silence and he covered his arms, face and the rest of his chest, waiting for it to sink in before he put his shirt back on. He offered to put cream on Baekhyun but the other said he’d already done it when he was getting changed.

Chanyeol was both relieved and disappointed that he didn’t get to return the favour, but it was for the best really.

It would be embarrassing to get lost in himself when they were technically working, even if the kids weren’t paying them to tiniest bit of attention. The foursome sat in silence for a moment before Baekhyun struck up a conversation with Jongdae about something Chanyeol was only half paying attention to.

He really couldn’t tell where he stood with Baekhyun, at times he was sure the other was flirting with him. But it wasn’t obvious or direct enough for Chanyeol to make a move, after all, Baekhyun was affectionate with all of the counsellors and maybe he was reading too much into it. Sitting here between Baekhyun and Jongdae wasn’t doing anything for his internal struggle and when Yixing wandered over to see if anyone wanted to swim, he was quick to take up the offer. Following the Chinese man into the water, they waded out slightly further than the kids, toes just touching the bottom as the water lapped at their collars.

The water was cool against his burning skin and it was sweet relief.

Letting himself bob around in the water, he let his eyes close for a moment, just enjoying the gentle sway of the water.

“You seem to be fitting in well, Chanyeol” He opened his eyes to look at Yixing who was relaxing just like himself, head lolled back as he cloud-gazed. “Baekhyun and Jongdae have nothing but praise for you” He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to respond, or even how he would respond if he was meant to.

“Thanks” Was what he came up with and Yixing looked at him curiously for a moment.

“He really likes you a lot, you know” Chanyeol figured he knew exactly who Yixing was referring to and he shrugged, avoiding his eyes to stare up at the clouds himself. “And you like him too, right?” Maybe he was being more obvious than he had thought, or maybe Yixing was actually observing when people thought he was spacing out.

“Yeah, Baekhyun’s great” He offered, eyes flitting to the sound of a loud splash, seeing some of the kids messing about nearby.

Yixing smiled, a pleased look on his face before he swam away with a casual wave over his shoulder. Chanyeol felt like he’d missed something but he was never really sure with Yixing, but the guy was harmless and clearly meant no ill by his questioning so he let it go. His gaze wandered to the shore where Baekhyun was still chatting away with Jongdae, Minseok having waded into the water to keep an eye on the kids.

Given he was alone, he took the chance to actually do some swimming, waded a little further into the water as he relaxed.

 

Lunch had been provided in the form of packed lunches and as noon drifted by, everyone was once again gathered on the shore to eat.

Chanyeol found himself sat snugly between Baekhyun and Junmyeon, munching on a ham and cheese sandwich happily as Kyungsoo was telling a story about something Jongin did (who was looking very embarrassed). Sniggering, Chanyeol reached out for a juice carton, at the same exact time as Baekhyun in a bad romcom-esque movement.

Their hands brushed and froze simultaneously, before Chanyeol backed down and let Baekhyun have that carton.

He reached for another, pointedly not making eye contact with the others as he stabbed the straw through the top.

They were going to be playing with the inflatables a little after lunch was done and Chanyeol was undeniably excited, probably more so than some of the kids. Jongdae just rolled his eyes at his childish behaviour, following him as they headed a little further down the shore to where the large floating obstacle course was set up.

They went head to head, team against team and he was buzzed to find out his team was up first, directly against Jongdae – Minseok was apparently replacing Sehun, who was adamant about staying as dry as possible, preferring to lounge under the sun than soak himself in the lake.

Clambering up onto the platform, his arms flailed as he steadied himself under the rocking motion.

Behind him he heard a snort and he turned to see Jongdae behind him. In a bout of strength, he lunged, pushing Jongdae straight over the side and into the lake with a loud splash. The stunt went down great with the kids as they chortled with laughter, bouncing around at Jongdae’s expense as he surfaced looking enraged.

“Chanyeol!” Minseok giggled, but leaned over to pull Jongdae back onto the platform and Chanyeol practically heard him swoon.

The games began almost instantly and there was lots of shouting and screaming as the kids chased each other (and the counsellors) around the swaying platform, attempting to be the last one standing. Jongdae was once again first off, much to Chanyeol’s amusement, followed by a lot of the girls and some of the skinnier boys.

Minseok made a direct lunge for him when he was trying to protect himself from two of the other boys.

The attack caught him off guard and he stepped back – straight into Baekhyun.

Letting out a startled yelp, Baekhyun’s hands reached out on instinct, grabbing onto Chanyeol, only to topple them both into the water. As soon as they were gone the battle continued and it seemed like they were almost immediately out of the others’ minds. When they broke the surface, Baekhyun’s arms were still wound around his shoulders, but this time Baekhyun was at his front.

His hair stuck to his head as it dripped and Chanyeol was sure he didn’t look much better.

Baekhyun giggled, as they waded in the water to keep afloat. Chanyeol knew they should already have been swimming back to the shore, as he heard another splash off the other end and more shouting from the platform. But he just couldn’t drag his eyes away from the way the water made Baekhyun’s tan skin shimmer, almost like little specks of glitter covered his skin.

The other’s giggled stifled as he caught Chanyeol staring and swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the movement.

His eyes couldn’t help but follow the movement, before flickering back up to his lips, then his eyes. He knew he should have felt embarrassed at being caught staring but Baekhyun didn’t look like he minded all that much. If anything he looked a little bashful under the others gaze, hands clenching at his shoulders.

Just as he was leaning in, nose nudging the other’s, a shout of victory came from Minhyuk on their team and their little bubble was broken.

Coughing awkwardly, Chanyeol made to swim back to the platform, pulling himself back up and then helping Baekhyun up before congratulating their team. Everyone was sufficiently in need of a break and they collapsed in a huddle on the shore as the next few teams took their place.

Jongdae eyed them curiously as they looked anywhere but at each other, a soft flush on their cheeks that if anyone asked, Chanyeol would put down to the effort of the game.

 

It wasn’t until dinner had passed by and everyone was retiring for the night, no activities scheduled to give people some much need alone time, that he found himself in the cabin with just the two of them. They hadn’t talked about the water incident and Chanyeol wasn’t even sure what he wanted to say, even if they did. They’d taken another shower earlier to wash off the residue from the lake, before they’d eaten dinner.

Chanyeol was lounging on his bed, playing a game on his phone when Baekhyun emerged from their bathroom, now dressed in matching chequered pyjamas that looked far too cute to be allowed. He’d expected him to walk to his own bed and do some equally brain-numbing task while they pretended everything was OK.

But clearly Baekhyun had other ideas.

He approached Chanyeol’s bed and stopped just short of it, staring at the taller boy until he glanced up towards him. Pausing, Chanyeol locked his phone, slowly putting it on the bedside table as he fidgeted under the other’s stare. “Chanyeol” He nodded, not sure of that the other wanted him to say. “Kiss me” 

_Well._

Swallowing, he licked his lips subconsciously, staring up wide-eyed as if Baekhyun hadn’t just asked him to kiss him.

The other shifted uncomfortably when he got no response, before swiftly clambering onto the bed, hovering above Chanyeol in a way that was far too predatory for someone as cute as Baekhyun. “Kiss me” He repeated and this time Chanyeol’s brain wasn’t as surprised, hooking a hand around the back of Baekhyun’s neck to tug him down.

Their lips met in a soft embrace, more of a press of lips than anything else as they sat still, testing the water.

Tilting his head, Chanyeol pressed a little harder, urging Baekhyun’s lips to dance with his own as the other’s weight settled atop him, arms caging either side of his head. His free hand settled on his waist, fingertips brushing at where his shirt had ridden up. Baekhyun seemed pleased with this, biting teasingly at Chanyeol’s bottom lip.

Baekhyun’s lips were as soft and plump as Chanyeol had imagined and far more sinful than he could have hoped.

The kiss was languid almost lazy in how they moved against each other, but there was no reason to rush.

Chanyeol probed at the seam of his lips with a curious tongue, tracing along until Baekhyun invited him in. Their tongues met as Chanyeol slipped his hand up under the other’s shirt, fingertips tracing meaningless patterns on his skin until the other sighed into his mouth. Fingers tangled in his hair and Baekhyun’s body moved against his testing.

How someone he’d barely known for three days had such an effect on his, he’d never know.

But the last thing he wanted was to rush it, get lost in the lust they shared and it all be over before it could even begin. Pulling away, he peppered kisses around Baekhyun’s face, hands moving to still the other’s hips. He could practically feel Baekhyun’s pout as he stole one last kiss, smirking.

“Not today” His words were vague, but he knew the other got what he was getting out. Baekhyun whined, resting their foreheads together, but a small smile played on his lips so Chanyeol knew he didn’t mind.

“Not _today_ ” The words were repeated, but the emphasis fell heavily on the implication that he would be more than happy to continue at a later date and all he could do was shrug as he dropped his eyes to he other’s collar, where his shirt fell away from his front. “I like the sound of that”


	4. Close Encounters

When Chanyeol woke up, it was to Baekhyun practically lying on top of him. Blinking at the ceiling sleepily, he took a moment to observe the other. Chanyeol himself was lying on his back, feet nearly poking out the bottom of the duvet (most beds were barely big enough to hold him) with the other boy curled up against his side, head tucked into his collar, arm and leg throw haphazardly over him.

It was cute really, how innocent Baekhyun looked while asleep, hair all mussed up and lips parted.

Such a contrary image to the one of him last night when he practically demanded Chanyeol kissed him.

That in itself still felt like a dream, had it not been for the very real body against his own he would have sworn it had been a figment of his imagination. Fumbling around for his phone, he winced when the bright screen hit his eyes and once he’d gotten over the initial shock, he noted that the time was a little before his alarm was due to go off and as much as he wanted to go back to sleep, they had a job to do.

Chanyeol glanced back down at Baekhyun, trying to ease out of the bed without waking him.

Unfortunately, the other only seemed to cling to him tighter, mumbling in his sleep in a way that made Chanyeol want to kiss him awake. Pausing, he realised there was no real reason holding him back from doing so anymore – smiling to himself, he strained his neck to press his lips softly against the other’s, nothing more than a peck.

After a moment or two, the lips moved back against his own, body relaxing it’s hold on him.

“Good morning to you too, hot stuff” Baekhyun whispered against his lips and Chanyeol could feel his smirk.

“We need to get up, do you want to shower first or shall I?” He asked, pulling back to look properly at the other. When Baekhyun wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, a playful grin on his face he rolled his eyes and pushed out of bed, stretching with an exaggerated sigh. “I’ll go first then, I’ll shout when I’m out, go back to sleep” Baekhyun’s smile was softer this time as he flopped back onto the bed, his head on Chanyeol’s pillow this time.

Grabbing everything he needed to shower, he made it into the bathroom with only one last glance over his shoulder.

It was truly strange how much he felt like he’d known the others – not even just Baekhyun – for so much longer than a little under a week; it was like a little escape (with kids around) that he could definitely see himself coming back to over and over again until he was probably too old to do so anymore.

As much as he wouldn’t want to explode Jongdae’s ego in telling him exactly that, he really did owe it to his friend.

People always talked about having something you were passionate about.

His shower was a little longer than he would normally spend, given he was lost in his own thoughts, until Baekhyun knocked on the door telling him to hurry up. Cursing, Chanyeol quickly turned off the shower and hopped out, wrapping his towel haphazardly around his waist before letting the smaller man in.

Baekhyun looked a little less tired than earlier, hair still all over the place.

Before he could stop himself, Chanyeol ran a hand through Baekhyun’s hair, smoothing it away from his face in a gesture that was way more intimate than he had intended. The soft pink hue that appeared on the other’s cheeks was pretty and Chanyeol smiled at the floor as he moved past to let him into the bathroom.

 

 

Breakfast was relatively uneventful, though he caught Jongdae eyeing him and Baekhyun curiously from his usual seat next to Minseok.

There was no way the others could know anything had happened, there was no limp, no marks – though maybe Jongdae just knew him well enough to sense a change in the way he looked at Baekhyun. He knew he caught himself watching the other with a fonder smile than normal, before he could stop himself.

Junmyeon mentioned that today was arts and crafts day and that the kids were deciding which section they wanted to be in at what times.

There was woodwork, painting or jewellery making; somehow, truly by fate, himself and Baekhyun would be working with Minseok and Jongdae on painting (though he wasn’t sure how smart of an idea that was, given he and Jongdae weren’t exactly the best artists out there; there was a reason he only took art for as long as it was mandatory in high school).

His attention flitted to Baekhyun again when their knees knocked under the table, spoon hovering in the air.

Baekhyun stilled too, pausing in chewing his toast to look at him in question, telling Chanyeol that the touch had been entirely accidental. Shooting him a small smile, he finished his cereal, pointedly avoiding the curios gazes now coming from both Jongdae and Minseok – now was not the time to have this conversation.

No doubt Jongdae would corner him at some point during the day to get the gossip out of him, as per usual.

But until that point, he was more than happy to play blissful ignorance.

On the plus side, the kids seemed to be in a calmer mood today, maybe the day at the lake had taken it out of them and they were looking forward to a rest as much as the adults. Chanyeol was endlessly thankful that they weren’t bouncing off the walls – dealing with hyper kids and paint was the last thing he wanted.

Once everyone was done and the tables were cleared, he dutifully followed his fellow counsellors as they led their little troop of mini-artists to the room they would be painting in. It was set up pretty nicely, with little tables of six spread out around the room, covered in every supply they could ever need. At least the parents were getting their money’s worth with everything the kids got to do; Chanyeol was more than a little impressed.

It was pretty easy to split the kids between the tables, the girls and boys naturally separating to sit with their closest friends.

“What exactly is our job, like do we just let them do whatever?” Chanyeol whispered to Baekhyun as they headed over to hand out aprons in an attempt to protect their clothing from paint.

“Just let them paint or draw what they want, help if they need us to” Baekhyun paused to help tie the back of Jennie’s apron and Chanyeol handed out his last apron to the other girls at the table they were stood by. “We can do our own thing if they don’t need help, see how much of an artist you are” The shorter man smirked up at him and Chanyeol pouted.

“Why do you sound like you think I’ll be terrible?” He whined, following the other like a lost puppy; Chanyeol found a seat next to Baekhyun on one of the empty tables towards the end of the room. Baekhyun shrugged nonchalantly, same smirk still on his face as he set up the mini easel atop the table, glancing up as Jongdae and Minseok made their way over to join them.

“Well prove me wrong, Picasso” Jongdae snorted at the comment and Chanyeol reached over to smack his arm.

“Hey, no violence in front of the kids!” Minseok scolded him, but the amused tone was clear as he reached over to tie the back of Jongdae’s apron. Chanyeol made a mental note to ask the other if he’d finally gotten the balls to do anything, or if he was simply content to pine forever.

“Well give me something to paint and we’ll see who’s the better artist” Pointing the end of his clean paintbrush in what he hoped was an intimidating manner (which clearly did not have the desired effect given all he got was rolled eyes).

“Alright, how about we do the fruit bowl and compare?” Baekhyun replied, gesturing to the picture-perfect bowl set in the middle of the table.

“ _How original_ ” Chanyeol snickered before flinching when water was splashed in his face.

Baekhyun stuck his tongue out at him and poured out paint onto the sectioned pan in front of them as Chanyeol wiped the droplets from his face.

From then on, they painted in relative silence, the laughter and chatter from the kids acting as background noise to their concentration. Chanyeol could hear Jongdae and Minseok giggling and whispering between themselves and for once he couldn’t deny how cute they looked together – if only they weren’t so blind to it themselves.

He’d started his own design with a pencil sketch (which wasn’t all that bad, surprisingly), before mixing out his paints on the pan in front of him. A quick glance over told him Baekhyun had done pretty much the same, though the detail in his sketch was far better than Chanyeol’s own – art was clearly just another thing to add to the list of things Baekhyun was good at.

Just as he reached the tip of his paintbrush towards the brown, for the bowl the fruit sat in, Baekhyun did exactly the same and their brushes collided with a soft ‘clunk’.

Deciding to test his luck, Chanyeol pushed at Baekhyun’s brush, like a mini sword battle to get to the paint first.

It was clear Baekhyun wasn’t going to give up that easily and before he could see if coming, a hand squeezed at his ribs, sending a jolt up his spine. If there was one weakness that Chanyeol wished he could get rid of, it was how easily he got tickled, even the lightest dance of fingertips over the sensitive parts of his body had him in spasms. With a yelp, his hand recoiled away from the paint in a vain attempt to protect himself and Baekhyun chortled with laughter, dipping his brush into the paint and carrying on like nothing had happened.

As much as he wanted to complain or retaliate, his gaze lingered on the toothy grin Baekhyun was giving his painting, little dimples drawing his eyes in effortlessly.

After staring a moment too long to be considered normal, Baekhyun’s eyes flitted to his own for the briefest second before they both looked away, suddenly very focused on their paintings. Daring a look up to the others on the table, he saw Minseok trying to hide a smirk behind his easel and Jongdae blatantly staring at him with a single eyebrow raised.

Chanyeol felt his cheeks heat up at being caught so openly ogling his cabin-mate and luckily, a shout distracted the others long enough to avoid the conversation he could sense coming.

One of the kids had knocked over the glass of water that was used to wash the brushes, spilling its contents all over the table. Minseok and Baekhyun leapt up to help damage control, leaving Chanyeol sat opposite his best friend. It took all of 5 seconds before Jongdae caved and leaned closer over the table.

“What’s with all the lovey-dovey eyes?” His voice was hushed, in a way that was totally obvious they were having a private conversation.

“Ahh…” Chanyeol paused, eyes flickering around nervously in case any of the kids overheard and passed it on. “We kissed last night –“

“Seriously?! When were you going to tell me?” Jongdae interrupted, voice going up in pitch with his signature whining.

“I haven’t had the chance! Anyway, you’re one to talk, what about you and Minseok?” Jongdae’s eyes flickered away and he shrank back in his seat. “For God’s sake Jongdae, you need to just make a move already, your moping is driving me nuts” His friend pouted and was about to reply when Baekhyun returned to the table, apron now blotched with little speckles of paint. “All good?”

“Yeah, nothing too bad, just some wet paintings” Baekhyun chuckled, sliding back into the seat that felt miles closer to Chanyeol than before.

Their thighs brushed as he tucked himself under the table and neither made a move to pull away. Everyone turned their attention back to their own paintings, where Chanyeol had barely started to paint the bowl, let alone the fruit. As much as he tried, it was hard to pay attention to the white piece of paper when his thigh felt a million degrees where it pressed against Baekhyun’s.

He went for the apple next, desperately trying to pay attention to getting the colour right.

The painting was going pretty well, given he hadn’t touched paint in years and he was just finishing off his apple when a hand landed on his leg.

Flinching, he tried not to make it obvious something was happening to the other two on the table; shooting a glance down, he saw Baekhyun’s hand playing with the rip in his jeans just above his knee. Baekhyun himself didn’t seem to pay him any attention, painting the shine on the apple with delicate strokes.

It was almost as if Baekhyun wasn’t even aware that his hand was kneading at Chanyeol’s thigh.

Swallowing in an attempt to ease his now dry mouth, Chanyeol cleaned off his brush and jabbed the end into the yellow for the banana. The more he tried to ignore the hand on his leg, the braver it seemed to get; fingers dipped into the rip, squeezing between the material of his jeans and his leg.

He was in two minds about whether to just let the other do what he wanted and suffer in silence, or stop him and probably have instant regret.

After a few more minutes, Baekhyun had clearly gotten bored with the rip and had taken to rubbing his hand along the length of his thigh, no doubt creating a bunch of static. The sensation was magnified by the fact that no one else knew what was going on under the table, even if they technically weren’t doing anything _that_ bad.

He blinked rapidly and squirmed in his chair, paintbrush hovering awkwardly by his paper as he tried to think over his next move.

“We’re running out of clean paintbrushes for the kids, would one of you grab them from the cupboard out there?” Minseok gestured behind the two of them and the hand stilled, dangerously close to the crease at the top of his thigh.

“We could probably do with some more red too, come help me?” Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol, a glint in his eye that Chanyeol prayed the other two didn’t notice. He nodded dumbly, resting his brush on the lip of the pan, to not get the table dirty. It was obvious that the job didn’t really need more than one person and judging by the look the other two counsellors shared as they stood up, every one of them knew it.

The cupboard was outside of the room, just down the corridor by the toilets and luckily it locked, to make sure the kids didn’t have access to paints whenever they wanted.

Baekhyun pushed him in first and shut the door behind them; when the sound of the lock clicked, hands were on him, backing him into now closed door.

Standing up on his tippy-toes, Baekhyun stretched to plant a kiss on his lips. Waking up from his daze, Chanyeol’s hands moved on their own to grip at Baekhyun’s hips, ducking down to meet the other half way. It was honestly crazy how intoxicated the other made him feel, hands itching to bring him closer.

“What the hell were you playing at out there?” Chanyeol grunted, nipping at the other’s bottom lip.

“You just looked so sexy concentrating so hard, I couldn’t help myself” Baekhyun batted his eyelashes at him and leaned further into him, arms looping around his neck. Fingers wound into the hair at the nape of his neck and he felt his own eyelids flutter, a little shiver making goosebumps rise on his skin.

Their lips met again, messier this time as his own hands danced on the skin that became exposed as Baekhyun stretched. They could have been in that cupboard for minutes or hours for all he knew and honestly, he wasn’t even mad, but he knew there was only so much time the others would give them before calling them out on it if they weren’t careful.

“We need to get the stuff and head back out, there’s only so long Minseok and Jongdae will take” Chanyeol muttered as Baekhyun mouthed at his neck. The other only hummed in acknowledgement, stealing one last kiss before pulling away and spinning around.

Chanyeol found himself with an arm full of paintbrushes as Baekhyun grabbed a few containers of paint, blinking dumbly.

The door opened and he followed behind Baekhyun into the room, looking anywhere but at the other two counsellors.

“You’re looking a little hot there Channie, you alright?” He shot Jongdae a dirty look as Baekhyun and Minseok laughed.

“Oh he’s _hot_ alright” Goddamnit Baekhyun.


	5. Caught In The Act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I'm back and alive and finally with a smutty update (Thanks for those who expressed their interest in the comments). It took me forever to finally get around to writing this chapter, but I will finish the story, so don't worry!
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Time flies when you’re having fun, as the saying goes and Chanyeol had never really felt that until now – the first week turned into the second, half way through the whole camp experience and he honestly didn’t know where the time had gone. The kids were growing on him too, the noise being less overwhelming and more comforting.

The other counsellors had also taken him under their wing and the more he got to know them, the more it felt like a little family.

It had also become semi-common knowledge that there was something going on between himself and Baekhyun – though as rumours floated, the tales got crazier and more unrealistic but all they could do was laugh. As for Baekhyun, things had been going well, more often than not, the smaller boy climbed into Chanyeol’s bed at night, seeking cuddles and sneaky kisses.  
As much as Baekhyun was driving his libido wild, he didn’t want to rush into things and regret it later.

Hands had wandered at the edge of clothing occasionally slipping underneath to brush over warm skin, nothing more, nothing less.

The long hours and physically intense days were draining him a little bit, so it was a huge relief when Junmyeon told them that they were having a games and quiz morning and they would have the afternoon free, settling down for a movie (yet to be decided) later in the evening. It made a nice break.

It also didn’t hurt to wake up wrapped up like a cocoon with Baekhyun tucked under his chin.

He always looked so cute when he just woke up, lips all pouty and hair pointing in every direction possible and it made Chanyeol want to do nothing but spend the day together in bed. But alas they could not, so he ushered Baekhyun to get up, falling into the now all-so familiar routine of getting ready and before he knew it they were out the door and eating breakfast.

If there was one thing he’d come to learn about his team, it was that they were incredibly competitive – with the skills to back it up.

So it was needless to say they were all buzzing about the morning tasks, determined to win as they had with a few of the other tasks. It made him smile seeing them so determined and working as a team, though it was difficult trying to console so many competitive kids on the off chance they didn’t win. As much as it was just for fun, they all took it so seriously.

Moving to the main hall, the groups were split off with their counsellors and instructed on their tasks.

The first was a camp staple – make as high of a structure as you can with only marshmallows and dry spaghetti sticks in 20 minutes. Chanyeol was almost left in the dusk as a plan was made and spaghetti was poked into the marshmallows; Yugyeom was whined at by BamBam when he pushed too hard and snapped the pasta, having to start again. Chanyeol’s high in comparison to the other’s came as an advantage when the kids could no longer reach high enough to make additions, though it was nerve-wracking being the one responsible for not destroying their work.

In the end, their tower won by only 2 cm higher than Sehun’s team and a point was marked next to their team name.

The next challenge was where each of the kids held hands with someone other than the person next to them in the circle, bodies overlapping and arms twisting and bending. Their aim was to undo the human knot until they were once again in a circle, without letting go of either person’s hand they were holding.

Baekhyun was trying to help, but amidst the chuckles he couldn’t help but let out whenever someone had to duck or try and step over people’s joint arms, he wasn’t that big of a help.  
Minseok and Jongdae’s team seemed to work like a well-oiled machine, untangling without any real difficulty.

Their third challenge was a giant game of hangman, with Junmyeon acting as adjudicator, each team taking turns to guess a letter or guess the word. Several rounds deep and Chanyeol’s team was one point behind Kyungsoo’s in overall score, though there were a few more practical tasks to go and then the general knowledge quiz.

Building a parachute out of select materials that had to stop a raw egg from cracking when dropped from the roof ended up with another point going Jongdae’s way.

Chanyeol’s team evened out for joint first with Pictionary and there was a draw between two of the lower teams in who could turn one of their kids into the best toilet-paper mummy.

During the break, the kids were given juice boxes and some fruit, while Chanyeol practically inhaled his second cup of coffee, needing to try and get a second wind before the quiz. In the little kitchen, while he sipped at his drink, arms wound around his waist, head nuzzling between his shoulder blades.

Spinning round, so Baekhyun’s head now rested on his chest, he glanced around before leaning down to steal a kiss.

He felt the other’s smile more than he saw it, hands clutching in the back of his shirt as Baekhyun pushed onto his tip-toes.

A cough sounded from the doorway and they separated wide eyes flying to the doorway, scared they’d been caught by one of the kids. Instead, Yixing looked sheepishly at them, hand rubbing at the back of his neck. “Sorry guys, just after some green tea” He pointed at the tea bags, shuffling towards the kettle.

“No worries, it should probably be us apologising” Baekhyun giggled, snuggling back into Chanyeol’s chest with a sigh.

“Not at all, young love and all that” Yixing chuckled too, turning his back to boil the kettle with enough water for his own mug. Baekhyun’s head turned to look up at him, smirk toying at his lips and his hands slipped down to squeeze Chanyeol’s butt before pulling away entirely, retreating back to the main room.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you two look good together” Yixing smiled, dimples appearing as Chanyeol flushed, scuttling out after his cabin-mate.

The quiz went well, an eventually ended up in an overall tie between their team and Minseok/Jongdae’s team (though he could see the pout on his kids’ faces that they didn’t take the entire win). Though the mood was appeased as soon as lunch came around, the kids immediately preoccupied with food.

They had the afternoon free, though the campers weren’t allowed to wander off outside the main area, given their counsellors were also given freedom. The plan was to reunite for dinner and settle down for a film night – the winners from earlier got to decide on the film to prevent arguments.

Chanyeol could tell Baekhyun was excited for their break, knee bouncing and knocking into his own under the lunch table.

Bringing a hand down to lay on the restless limb, the bouncing stopped and Baekhyun’s hand slipped under the table to grasp his, fingers entwining.

Most of the counsellors were sat at the table, but he didn’t notice the absence of his best friend; Jongdae and Minseok were no where to be seen and Chanyeol was sure they’d scuttled off as soon as the morning activities were done. Neither he nor Baekhyun had missed the lingering touches or glances during the day. But they were still worried about them skipping lunch, so Baekhyun insisted on packing some food up for the two to drop off.

Ushering the kids out of the canteen, they scattered, some heading to the play area, some heading for a much-needed nap.

“Do you reckon they’ll be at Jongdae’s place or Minseok’s?” Baekhyun glanced up at him as they headed off down the path that led to all of the counsellor’s cabins.

“Well, given Minseok has a cabin all to himself, why on earth would they go to Jongdae and Sehun’s?” Chanyeol snickered, walking past his and Baekhyun’s cabin until they got to Number 1. “Should we knock?” Baekhyun pressed his ear against the door, shrugging and knocking when he couldn’t hear anything through the wood.

There was no response.

“Maybe they’ve just gone for a walk or something, let’s just put this inside, the bugs will get to it out here” With that Baekhyun reached out, twisting the door handle and pushing it open, ready to see an empty room. Chanyeol noted that there was only the one bed, a double instead of the singles they had, but the rest of the room was much similar.

However, what they also noticed was the moving lump under the blankets on said bed and the whimper that filled the otherwise silent room.

They froze, Baekhyun’s eyes turning the size of saucers, boxes of food extended towards to dresser now frozen mid-air. It was very clear that the occupants hadn’t heard them come in, if the rocking of the bed and hushed murmurs were anything to go by. Chanyeol felt his face flush, desperately urging Baekhyun to hurry the fuck up so they could get out of there.

Panicking, Baekhyun put the box on the dresser all-too-loudly and for a second everything stopped. The top of the blanket was pulled down enough to reveal a confused looking Minseok, before the look turned into one of embarrassment and anger. “What the fuck guys?”

“We brought you lunch, you horndogs” Baekhyun bit back, waving a wrap in his direction, before Chanyeol managed to grab him by the elbow, dragging him out as they dodged a pillow thrown in their direction accompanied with several curses. “Lock the door next time!” Slamming the door behind them, there was another moment of silence, Baekhyun turning to look at Chanyeol. “Well at least they finally got a move on, huh” Baekhyun smirked at him, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Chanyeol spluttered, trying desperately to remove the image of Jongdae moaning out of his head.

Baekhyun’s smaller hand slid into his own, leading him the short distance to their own cabin, a wicked glint in his eyes.

The taller was pushed backwards into the cabin, the sound of a lock clear as Baekhyun advanced on him, smirk curling at the edge of his lips. The back of his knees knocked against his own bed, until he toppled backwards, landing with a soft ‘oof’. It took mere seconds for Baekhyun to lean over him, stealing a surprisingly chaste kiss.

“Why should they be the only ones having fun?” The question was deceptively light and Chanyeol swallowed as Baekhyun slid down his body until his knees landed on the floor between his legs. All Chanyeol could do was prop himself up on his elbows and watch as deft fingers popped his button and tugged the zipper down. There was something heady behind the look on Baekhyun’s face as he tugged his jeans down, until they pooled at his ankles. This was the first time outside of getting changed that Baekhyun would be seeing him in a state of undress.

He couldn’t help but feel a stir of interest in his groin as fingertips danced up his thighs, teeth nibbling at the sensitive flesh after.

Baekhyun pushed his t-shirt up and out of the way, nails lightly scratching their way down his stomach until they reached his boxers. Chanyeol’s head lolled back and he hissed as lips descended over the fabric, sucking a wet patch against his tip and he could feel the other’s smirk more than he could see it.

Chanyeol couldn’t remember the last time he’d been intimate with anyone, let alone someone as cute as Baekhyun.

He let out an embarrassing whine as the smaller suckled harder, fingertips beginning to tug down the material ox his boxers until he sprung free. Realistically, Chanyeol knew he was bigger than average, but his ego was still stroked when Baekhyun’s mouth open and closed a few times, eyes glued to his member.

“ _Fuck_ ” Was the only verbal response he got before Baekhyun was sliding him into his mouth with surprisingly little difficulty, hands twisting around the parts his mouth couldn’t quite reach.

The sudden suction made his hips buck involuntarily but Baekhyun barely choked, instead moaning obscenely around him. Chanyeol’s hands clenched into fists in the bedding, thighs spreading to accommodate the other better. Their eyes met again as Baekhyun pulled back until only the tip remained and dipped him tongue into the slit, lapping at the precum gathering there.

How could someone so smiley and charming also be so filthy? Not that he was complaining.

When teeth ever-so-gently teased down his length, Chanyeol shivered, arms collapsing to the bed when Baekhyun lapped at his balls, thumb pushing slightly lower to rub against his perineum. Baekhyun chuckled, pressing his tongue flat against the angry vein on the underside of his dick before going down on his once more. He found his rhythm pretty quick, hands working in tandem, not bothering to hold Chanyeol’s bucking hips to the bed.

He really wasn’t going to last long at this rate, far too pent up for it to count.

It didn’t help that the sounds coming from the smaller were just so _obscene_ , doing absolute wonders for Chanyeol’s imagination. “I’m close, shit –“ His breaths were coming out in quick pants, muscles tensing as Baekhyun took him that bit deeper and the moment he felt him swallow, Chanyeol knew he was a goner.

Hands wound into light brown hair, trying to tug Baekhyun off him in time, but the smaller was having none of it.

With a loud moan and a tight grip, Chanyeol came, back arching off the bed as Baekhyun swallowed his load, pulling back to milk him with his hands. A few drops escaped out the corner of Baekhyun’s mouth, glassy eyes blinking up at him and Chanyeol’s dick twitched pathetically in interest.

“God Baekhyun” Chanyeol’s chest heaved, watching as Baekhyun’s thumb collected the spilt cum, sucking it back into his mouth as he clambered up onto the bed, tent obvious in his jeans.

Chanyeol’s hand immediately moved to pop the button, tugging at the tight material until he had enough room to pull Baekhyun out of his boxers. Even his dick was cute, all flushed and pink, fitting so snugly in Chanyeol’s palm as his fist closed around him. It only took a few minutes for Baekhyun to cum, streaks landing across Chanyeol’s still exposed stomach with high-pitched whimpers.

Rolling off to the side, Baekhyun flopped onto the bed next to him, basking in the silence for a few moments before Chanyeol got up to kick his shoes and jeans off in search for something to clean them up with. “Come cuddle me Yeollie… we’ve still got time before dinner” His words were back to being deceptively innocent, full pout all-too tempting, but Chanyeol knew that now the smaller had gotten a taste (literally), nothing was off limits.


End file.
